GAME 7
Duquesne (4-1-1 | 0-0 Atlantic 10) @ George Washington (2-5 | 0-0 Atlantic 10)
Saturday, Sept. 21 | 1:00 p.m.
GW Soccer Field | Washington, D.C.
 
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From The Pitch
 
- The Duquesne University men's soccer team wraps up a three-game road trip by opening Atlantic 10 play Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. match against George Washington at GW Soccer Field.
 
- The Dukes suffered their first loss of the 2024 season in their last outing, a 3-0 setback at Robert Morris at the North Athletic Complex. The Colonials scored three times in the span of five-and-a-half minutes to secure the victory.
 
- Duquesne, which is 0-1-1 during its current road trip, opened its road swing with a 1-1 draw at No. 23 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish led, 1-0, before a late penalty kick was awarded to junior forward Dakota Jonke, who scored from the spot to garner the tie.
 
- Senior goalkeeper Zoltan Nagy matched a season high in saves with seven at Notre Dame. A two-time Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week, Nagy has faced 52 shots over the last three matches, including 23 on goal.
 
- In their last home match, the Dukes earned a 1-0 victory over Niagara. It marked the sixth consecutive victory at Rooney Field dating back to the 2023 campaign.
 
- Junior Ashton Jell scored the lone marker in the triumph over the Purple Eagles less than three minutes into the contest, taking a feed from redshirt sophomore Jaxon Ervin and ripping it past goalkeeper Jamie Berry at 2:49. It marked the second goal of the year for Jell.
 
- A total of nine Dukes have registered a point through the first six games of the 2024 season, with redshirt sophomore Jaxon Ervin owning a team-high seven courtesy of two goals and three assists. Ervin is tied for fourth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring at 1.17 points per game.
 
- Duquesne is led by head coach Chase Brooks, who is in his 12th season leading the program in 2024. Brooks has posted a record of 81-84-26 (.492) on the sidelines at Duquesne. Thanks to a season-opening win over Seton Hill, Brooks picked up his 100th career victory as a head coach.
 
- Senior forward Maxi Hopfer was named to the 2024 All-Atlantic 10 Preseason Team at forward in a vote of league head coaches. In his last full season in 2022, Hopfer was named to the All-Atlantic 10 Second Team after finishing with 14 points thanks to five goals and four assists. In 2021, Hopfer found the back of the net 11 times and also distributed six assists in finishing with 28 points to earn a spot on the All-Atlantic 10 First Team.
 
- Duquesne returns home for a pair of matches after taking on the Revolutionaries Saturday. The Dukes will welcome Mount St. Mary's to Rooney Field Tuesday, Sept. 24, for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference match before returning to A-10 action Saturday, Sept. 28, at 5:00 p.m. against Saint Joseph's.
 
Scouting the Revolutionaries – Located in Washington, D.C. … George Washington owns an overall record of 2-5 (.286) and is coming off a 4-1 loss at Iona (Sept. 17) and splitting a two-game road trip … The Revolutionaries earned a 1-0 win at Navy (Sept. 10) … Louis Crofts scored the lone marker in the win over the Midshipmen and also scored GW's goal at Iona … Crofts leads George Washington with six points this season thanks to three goals … The Dukes have won four consecutive games against the Revolutionaries and lead the all-time series, 14-9-1 (.604) … In matches played in Washington, D.C., Duquesne has posted a 6-5-1 (.542) record … The Dukes own a mark of 15-9-5 (.603) in Atlantic 10 openers, including a mark of 4-4-1 (.500) on the road.
 
That's How It Goes – The Dukes opened the 2024 season unbeaten through their first five matches by allowing just three goals during that stretch. However, in dropping its first game of the year at Robert Morris, Duquesne allowed three goals in the span of five-and-a-half minutes in the second half. Despite the loss, the Dukes are tied for third in the Atlantic 10 with Saint Louis, Dayton and George Mason in scoring defense, allowing an average of just one goal per game. Rhode Island tops the circuit, having yielded just two markers in six matches, while Massachusetts has given up six goals in seven games (0.86 per contest).
 
The End Game – Behind a solid defense is a solid goalkeeper, and senior Zoltan Nagy has been rock for Duquesne in the early going. Despite the Dukes falling at Robert Morris in their last outing, Nagy, who has faced a high volume of shots over the last three matches, leads the Atlantic 10 in saves during the 2024 campaign with 28. His average of 4.67 per game ranks second in the A-10 to Edu Rodriguez, who averages 5.00 saves per contest thanks to 20 saves in four matches. Nagy also sits third in the conference in save percentage (.824) and seventh in goals against average (1.09).
 
One – Thanks to a 1-0 victory over Niagara that helped Duquesne seal its sixth consecutive home victory, the Dukes improved to 24-8 (.750) in one-goal matches since the beginning of the 2021 season. Included in that stretch is a 14-3 (.824) record in such games at Rooney Field and a 10-5 (.667) mark on the road.
 
A Milestone – Senior forward Maxi Hopfer became the ninth Duquesne student-athlete in program history to reach 50 career points in a 1-0 win at Xavier, as his assist on the game-winning goal by redshirt sophomore Jaxon Ervin helped him reach the threshold. Hopfer is currently tied with Dave Kovalcik (1995-97, 1999) and Derek MacKenzie (2001-04) for seventh place all-time for the Dukes in scoring. Sitting sixth in the program record book is Steve Mellor, who scored 57 points from 2002 to 2005.
 
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